Convicted rapist and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus, the head of the New York state corrections officers union told Reuters.
Weinstein, 68, was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security state prison east of Buffalo, on Wednesday after being sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11. He was found guilty of rape and criminal sexual act in a landmark #MeToo case.
At Wende, Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus, Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, learned on Sunday and told Reuters. The news was first reported by the Niagara Gazette.
He is currently in isolation at the prison, Powers said, and several staff at the facility have also been quarantined.
NBC News was not able to immediately reach Powers. A representative for Weinstein told NBC News Sunday afternoon that they were not aware of Weinstein’s test. A lawyer for Weinstein told Reuters on Sunday evening they had not been notified of the diagnosis.
Before being transferred to federal prison, Weinstein was being held in Rikers Island Jail, where there have been multiple cases of coronavirus among those in custody and the correctional officers at the facility.
Weinstein also was went to Bellevue Hospital during his time in jail for heart problems, and has high blood pressure and diabetes — factors which would put him at greater risk of falling very ill from coronavirus.
Doha Madani contributed.